The Innovation Centre is a major addition to the Knowledge Gateway research and technology park on our Colchester Campus.

The Innovation Centre will provide space and hands-on support to start-up companies, and will house a creative digital studio.

The Innovation Centre viewed from Boundary Road. The new phase of Parkside Office Village, opening autumn 2018, is on the left.

The Innovation Centre on the Knowledge Gateway will open 2019. Our carbon-neutral £21m Essex Business School opened in 2015 and is located on the right.

Set to open its doors in 2019, the Innovation Centre will further enrich the established business community on the Knowledge Gateway, joining more than 20 small businesses at Parkside Office Village.

Located on our Colchester Campus, the centre is at the heart of our Knowledge Gateway masterplan, in which we envisage 2,000 people eventually working here, drawn not just by the excellent business accommodation, but also the business and academic support and on-campus resources and facilities provided by a leading research-intensive university.

This development further supports our commitment to boosting the economic impact of the University in the eastern region. According to a 2016 report, our direct and indirect contribution is more than £500 million.

Alongside start-up space, the Innovation Centre will house a digital creative studio, in support of the NESTA 2016 Geography of Creativity in the UK study findings that ranked Colchester in the top 10 in England for creative industries.

If you would like to know more about the development of the Innovation Centre, and how your business can join us on the Knowledge Gateway at this exciting time, please contact us.

“The growth and survival rate of start-ups, and their economic impact, is enhanced by providing flexible and affordable property solutions; self-supporting communities and access to skills, training and knowledge.”